UPSC Prelims Practice Questions — Union Home Minister and Minister of Cooperation Shri Amit Shah replies in Lok Sabha to the discussion on the Delimitation Bill, 2026; the Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill, 2026; and the Union Territories Laws (Amendme...
Q1. In the context of Lok Sabha delimitation, the 'freeze' extended by the Constitution (Eighty-fourth Amendment) Act, 2001 is best described as a bar on which one of the following?
- A. Any readjustment of the total number of Lok Sabha seats allotted to each State, holding inter-State allocation on the 1971-census basis until the first census after 2026
- B. The holding of any election to the Lok Sabha until a fresh nationwide census is completed
- C. Any alteration of the boundaries of individual parliamentary constituencies within a State on the basis of a later census
- D. Any increase in the reserved seats for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes until 2026
Q2. Which one of the following constitutional amendments first froze the inter-State allocation of Lok Sabha seats on the basis of the 1971 census?
- A. The Forty-second Amendment, 1976
- B. The Eighty-fourth Amendment, 2001
- C. The Eighty-seventh Amendment, 2003
- D. The Ninety-first Amendment, 2003
Q3. The Constitution (One Hundred and Sixth Amendment) Act, 2023 (Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam) provided for women's reservation by inserting how many new articles into the Constitution?
- A. Two
- B. Three
- C. Four
- D. Five
Q4. The one-third reservation for women created by the 106th Amendment Act, 2023 applies to seats in which of the following?
- A. The House of the People and the Legislative Assemblies of States (and the Delhi Assembly)
- B. The House of the People, the Council of States and all State Legislatures
- C. The Legislative Assemblies and Legislative Councils of States only
- D. The House of the People and the Council of States only
Q5. Under the Delimitation Bill, 2026, the next delimitation of constituencies was to be carried out on the basis of which census?
- A. The 1971 census
- B. The 2001 census
- C. The 2011 census
- D. The 2021 census
Q6. Among the three companion Bills introduced in the Lok Sabha in April 2026, which one, being a Constitution Amendment Bill, was put to the vote and negatived, thereby rendering the other two infructuous?
- A. The Delimitation Bill, 2026
- B. The Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill, 2026
- C. The Union Territories Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2026
- D. The Constitution (128th Amendment) Bill, 2023
Q7. With reference to the Constitution of India, consider the following pairings of articles with their subject-matter:
1. Article 81 — composition of the House of the People
2. Article 82 — readjustment of seat allocation after each census
3. Article 170 — composition of the Legislative Assemblies of States
4. Article 330 — reservation of seats for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in the Legislative Assemblies of States
Which of the above are correctly identified?
- Article 81 — composition of the House of the People
- Article 82 — readjustment of seat allocation after each census
- Article 170 — composition of the Legislative Assemblies of States
- Article 330 — reservation of seats for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in the Legislative Assemblies of States
- A. 1, 2 and 3 only
- B. 1, 2 and 4 only
- C. 2, 3 and 4 only
- D. 1, 2, 3 and 4
Q8. Which one of the following most precisely states the mandate of Article 82 of the Constitution?
- A. Upon completion of each census, the allocation of seats and the division of each State into territorial constituencies shall be readjusted by such authority and in such manner as Parliament by law determines
- B. The House of the People shall consist of not more than a specified number of members chosen by direct election from territorial constituencies in the States
- C. Parliament may make provision with respect to all matters relating to elections to either House of Parliament
- D. The Legislative Assembly of each State shall consist of members chosen by direct election from territorial constituencies in the State
Q9. In the Lok Sabha reply on the 2026 delimitation Bills, the government stated that under the 50% increase model the combined Lok Sabha seats of the southern States would rise from 129 to approximately how many?
Q10. On the illustrative 2011-census basis cited for the 2026 delimitation, which single State would gain the largest number of additional Lok Sabha seats?
- A. Bihar
- B. Rajasthan
- C. Uttar Pradesh
- D. Madhya Pradesh
Q11. With reference to the Union Territories Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2026 and the Union Territories it covers, consider the following statements:
1. The Union Territories Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2026 was steered by the Ministry of Home Affairs, whereas the Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill, 2026 was under the Ministry of Law and Justice.
2. Jammu & Kashmir became a Union Territory under the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019.
3. The Legislative Assembly of Puducherry is constituted under Article 239AA of the Constitution.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
- The Union Territories Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2026 was steered by the Ministry of Home Affairs, whereas the Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill, 2026 was under the Ministry of Law and Justice.
- Jammu & Kashmir became a Union Territory under the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019.
- The Legislative Assembly of Puducherry is constituted under Article 239AA of the Constitution.
- A. 1 and 2 only
- B. 2 and 3 only
- C. 1 and 3 only
- D. 1, 2 and 3
Q12. Which one of the following best describes the legal status of the final orders of a Delimitation Commission in India?
- A. They have the force of law and shall not be called in question in any court
- B. They take effect only after ratification by the Legislatures of not less than half the States
- C. They may be challenged before the High Court of the State concerned within thirty days
- D. They come into force only upon the assent of the President of India